104- Daily French Expression: grave: a lot.

105- Daily French Expression: Dire des nouvelles: to be sure you will like it.

Goûte ça, tu m’en diras des nouvelles: Taste this, I am sure you will like it! We use this expression mainly at the future tense.

106- Daily French Expression: ça marche: it is ok!

Alors tu viens à 4 heures, ça marche? Well, you will come at 4, is that ok? Ça marche toujours pour demain? Is that still ok for tomorrow?Ça coûte trois fois rien: it cost next to nothing.Tu as mal? Non, non, c’est trois fois rien! Does it hurt? No, it is nothing.

Translate into French with the expressions of the week:

Speaking? You can’t come? but I have been hanging about for half an hour!Tomorrow? it is ok! sorry I am off, speak to you later!Don’t worry, it is nothing!

109- Daily French Expression: être à côté de la plaque: to be way off the mark (to be wrong).

Qu’est-ce que tu racontes, tu es complètement à côté de la plaque: what are you saying, you are widly way off the mark. Ils ont dit qu’il pleuvrait et il fait beau, ils sont à côté de la plaque: They said it would rain and the weather is good, they are totally wrong!

113: Daily French Expression: être à deux doigt de: to come very close to doing, to be within a hair’s breadth of.

J’étais à deux doigts de terminer quand tu es arrivé: I was within a hair’s breadth of finishing when you arrived. Il est à deux doigts de se faire virer: he is close to being fired! Barcelone est à deux doigts de l’exploit: Barça is very close to feat.

Translate into French with the expressions of the week:

I was close to get out of a scrape, can you imagine?But I was widly way off the mark and I had to rack my brain for an hour before getting the solution.

114: Daily French Expression: l’écraser: to shut up

Bon, tu l’écrases maintenant: well, would you shut up now? Il parle beaucoup mais il l’écrase devant son patron: he speaks a lot but never says a word in front of his boss.

119: Daily French Expression: Cailler: avoir froid, faire froid

Translate into French with the expressions you learnt:

– I am freezing, I am freezing! – Shut up! I am going to close the window! – Hey, what’s wrong? I am freezing, full stop! – Have you seen your face with this hat? you look like a dumb! – What you say makes no difference to me! – Really? I thought you were freezing?The expressions are in bold.

121- Daily French Expression: Bibi: me

Et qui va encore faire tout le travail? c’est bibi! and who is going to do the job again? it is me! Mais bibi, il en a marre de payer! But yours truly is fed up paying!

122- Daily French Expression: schlinguer: to stink, to reek

Ça schlingue ici: it stinks here! Il ne s’est pas lavé depuis une semaine, il schlingue: He has not been washing himself for a week, he is stinking.

123- Daily French Expression: Frimeur, Frimeuse

Quel frimeur ce Marcel: What a show-off, this Marcel! Hé, Joe-la-frime, t’as de nouvelles grolles? Hey, flash Harry, you have a pair of new shoes?We also say “crâneur, crâneuse”, and the verb is “frimer”.

Finir le travail à 18h00, ce n’est pas la mer à boire: It is not so hard to finish work at 6pm. J’ai un examen demain! -oh, ce n’est pas la mer à boire: I will take my exam tomorrow! Well, it is not the biggiest thing to face.

131- Daily French Expression: il n’y va pas de main morte: he does not pull his punches

Il n’y va pas de main morte avec le vin: he does not beat around the bush with the wine (he drinks too much)Pour lutter contre la drogue, le président n’y va pas de main morte: to fight against drugs, the president does not pull his punches.

Translate into French with the expressions of the week:

You won’t guess who I bumped into this afternoon? this idiot of Marcel.He told me that the project went up in the air and we have to do it again from the beginning, he said: “it is not a big deal”, so here we go!

132- Daily French Expression: il n’y a pas de quoi faire un drame: don’t make a drama out of that.

Je me suis blessé! – ce n’est rien, il n’y a pas de quoi faire un drame: I hurt myself! – That’s nothing, don’t make a drama out of that. Tu as perdu 1 euro, tu ne vas pas en faire un drame: you lost 1 euro, you are not going to make a drama out of that!

136- Daily French Expression: Prendre ses jambes à son cou: to run away

Il a entendu une explosion et il a pris ses jambes à son cou: he heard an explosion and he ran for his life. Quand elle a vu la foule, ella a fait marche arrière et pris ses jambes à son cou: When she saw the crowd, she backtracked and ran away!

Translate into French with the expressions of the week:

He treads on my toes and says that there is no reason to make a drama out of that! Next time I will run away and will have a lie-in on next day!

137- Daily French Expression: Plier bagage: to pack up and go

Je crois qu’il va pleuvoir, il serait temps de plier bagage: I think itis going to rain, it is time to pack up. À cause des taxes, les investisseurs ont décidé de plier bagage: because of the taxes, investors decided to pack up their bags.

Je n’en peux plus, j’ai eu les yeux plus gros que le ventre: I have had enough, I had the eyes begger than my stomach. Il ne faut pas avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventre: One should bite off only as much as one can chew.

141- Daily French Expression: Ne plus avoir un poil sur le caillou: he is as bald as an egg

On ne comprend rien avec son cheveu sur la langue: We can’t understand a word, he has a lisp! Elle zozote, elle a un cheveu sur la langue: she is lisping, she has a lisp!

Translate into French with the expressions of the week:

The boss was very cute but now he is as bald as an egg and on top of that he has a lisp! Don’t make me laugh or I will have to go to the toilet!

143- Daily French Expression: Maigre comme un clou: as thin as a rake

Il est maigre comme un clou, un vrai sac d’os: he is as thin as a rake, a real bag of bones! Tu as vu la top modèle? elle est maigre comme un clou: have you seen this top model? she is as thin as a toothpick.

145- Daily French Expression: Au poil: fantastic

146- Daily French Expression: Avoir les dents longues: to be very ambitious

Les nouveaux ont vraiment les dents longues: the new employees are very ambitious. Le premier ministre a les dents longues, il pourrait devenir président: the prime minister is very ambitious and could be the next president.

147- Daily French Expression: Avoir bon coeur: to be good-hearted

Il a bon-coeur avec sa famille: he is generous with his familyÀ votre bon coeur, messieurs dames, Dieu vous le rendra! thank you, ladies and gentlemen, God will give you back to you!

148- Daily French Expression: Pas folle la guêpe: he or she is no fool!

Mais il a pété un plomb, il a cassé l’ordinateur: but he went postal, he broke the computer! Quand il m’a dit ça, j’ai pété un plomb et je lui ai fichu ma main sur la figure: when he told me that, I lost my self control and slapped him in the face.

151- Daily French Expression: On ne peut pas jouer sur les deux tableaux: you can’t have it both ways

Le député ne peut pas jouer sur les deux tableaux: the member cannot have it both ways. Le député ne peut pas tout avoir: the member cannot have it both ways.

152- Daily French Expression: Qu’est-ce que tu prends? What are you having?

Qu’est-ce que tu prends? une bière? What are you having? a beer? Qu’est-ce que vous prendrez? What will you be having?

153- Daily French Expression: Rends-moi service: do me a favour!

Tu veux bien me rendre service: will you do me a favour? Elle l’a fait pour rendre service à sa mère: she did it as a favour to her mother.

154- Daily French Expression: Je n’y peux rien: there is nothing I can do about it

Désolé, mais je n’y peux rien: Sorry but there is nothing I can do about it! Désolé, mais il n’y a rien que je puisse faire.

Je l’ai fait pour te faire plaisir: I did it to please you. ça va lui faire plaisir: this will please him

156- Daily French Expression: ça n’a aucun sens: it does not make sense

Mais ça n’as aucun sens ce que tu dis: what you are saying does not make any sense. ça n’a aucun sens de l’accuser: it does not make sense to accuse him.

157- Daily French Expression: se debrouiller: to make do.

Ne t’inquiètes pas, on se débrouillera: don’t worry, we will make do. C’est de ta faute; débrouille-toi! it is your fault, sort things out yourself.Do we say “cest ta faute” or “c’est de ta faute”: both are acceptable in French, but when we write “c’est ta faute” is better.

186- Daily French Expression: Mon Dieu: my gosh

187- Daily French Expression: Ce n’est pas grave: never mind

Ce n’est pas grave si il dit le contraire: never mind if he tells the opposite. Il y a plus de grève en France mais ce n’est pas grave: there are more strikes in France but never mind.

188- Daily French Expression: Non mais: we use this expression in reply of a situation we don’t like, the way of saying it is a bit aggressive, see examples there:

Non mais dites donc? Hey you, what do you think you are doing? Non mais des fois, tu me prends pour qui? : for God sake, what do you take me for? Non mais, est-ce que ça te regarde? is it your business? Non mais sans blague, ça ne va pas dans ta petite tête? come on, aren’t you nuts? Non mais, quel culot: what a cheek! As you can here we “eat” the first part “ne” of the negative form when we speak.

191- Daily French Expression: Je n’en sais rien, another way of saying I don’t know.

We can say “je ne sais pas” but “je n’en sais rien” or simply “j’en sais rien” is very common. It is the translation of ‘I have no idea’, ‘I don’t know anything about it’. Il est où Pierre? J’en sais rien: Where is Peter? I don’t know. C’est quoi ce truc? J’en sais rien du tout: What is this thing? I have no idea! Mais j’en sais rien, moi, demande à Pierre! But I have no idea, ask Peter!

192- Daily French Expression: Tôt ou tard: sooner or later

Tôt ou tard, ça arrivera: sooner or later, it will happen. C’est évident que tôt ou tard il viendra: It becomes obvious that sooner or later he will come.

193- Daily French Expression: Mieux vaut tard que jamais: better late than never

194- Daily French Expression: Plus on est de fous, plus on rit: the more, the merrier

J’ai invité tous les voisins! – tu as raison, plus on est de fous plus on rit: I invited all the neighbours! – well done, the more, the merrier.

195- Daily French Expression: ça ne vaut pas la peine: It is not worth it

Je n’en veux pas, ça ne vaut pas la peine: I don’t want it, it is not worth it. ça ne vaut pas la peine de faire tant d’efforts: it is not worthy to make so many efforts.

196- Daily French Expression: se débrouiller comme un manche: to make a real mess of something.

Bon, laisse-moi faire, tu te débrouilles comme un manche: Well, let me do, you are making a real mess. The word “manche” is an abbreviation of “manchot” (one-armed person or no-armed person) but there are more explanations as “un mache” is also ‘the sleeve’ of a tool. ‘to have two left feet’.

197- Daily French Expression: Être en nage: to make sweat

Le tavail m’a mis en nage: the work made me sweat. Je suis toujours en nage apres le sport: after sport I am always pouring with sweat. Pay attention: faire suer which is the translation word for word of to make sweat means to annoy in French!

198- Daily French Expression: S’emmêler les pinceaux: to get all tied up

199- Daily French Expression: Jeter un froid: to cast a chill

Il a dit qu’il n’aimait pas son gâteau et ça a jeté un froid: he said that he did not like the cake and it cast a chill. La déclaration du président a jété un froid entre les deux pays: What the president said cast a chill between the two countries. We also say: “refroidir l’ambiance”